#neveragain

March for Our Lives, White Plains, NY March 24, 2018

The Edge

You are focused and driven, always on your way. At the same time, you can be present and calm, a real-life problem solver. I know this isn't easy to manage when a new Snap comes in every other second. I'm not ready to call you an adult but somehow I feel safe. I'm poised with you here, on a glistening edge. This is seventeen. Happiest of Birthdays, my love.

reSisters

 Women's March, New York City, January 20, 2018.

Our Everyday

I was recently asked if the experience of photographing my family has taught me something about them that I otherwise couldn't see or get close to. While I've learned a lot about my immediate family through photography I would say that the experience has taught me to slow down and be present. Holding a camera to my eye forces me to be astutely aware of our daily happenings, to seek meaning in everything from the mundane to the incredible. In these moments, distractions fall away. Focus. Breathe. Repeat.

I feel very strongly about the importance of documenting the everyday. While photography cannot stop time, our pictures become our memories. The everyday is everything, and frankly, it’s all we have. 

Today I'm thinking about another sunless and unremarkable day 15 years ago when I met my second child. I nearly mistook my stomach pains for something other than labor. He surprised me by arriving three weeks early. Although he still surprises me with his wit and charm on a daily basis it may have been the last time he arrived early for anything. It's okay. I'll wait for him. He is everything.

Happy 15th Birthday, dear Zac.